Exclusive Ensenada Shore Excursion with Princess Cruises

I am continuing my journey on the Princess Cruises Culinary Cruises. It has taken me much longer than anticipated to finish the entire series of blogs for the Princess Cruise. I apologize but my schedule and obligations have been crazy these past few months.

Every time I come across a Princess Cruises photo I want to go back again. It was so relaxing and so much fun.

Anyways let’s continue this journey. We are heading on the Culinary Excursion in Ensenada, Mexico.

My friend Patrica and I slept in that morning. I scheduled to have room service the night before to be delivered since I knew we wouldn’t want to get up early for breakfast before leaving for the Culinary Excursion.

Below is the buttery croissant, apricot jelly, fresh orange slices, coffee and orange juice. A simple yet yummy breakfast. I enjoyed this breakfast on the balcony with a nice breeze and quiet time. Perfect.

In addition to this I ordered a Egg, Ham and Cheese McMuffin. This McMuffin was mentioned to us several times as a must try before leaving so we gave in. I have to say it was impressive. Pretty good stuff.

That morning the Seagulls were out in full force, there was one that was determined to come as close as possible to me. It was quite comical. I sent a cool video of the Seagulls to my kiddos.

After getting dress, we headed downstairs for a quick Galley Tour. The Galley Tour is a kitchen tour, where you get a behind the scenes look of what goes on in the kitchen. How they organize themselves. The process of meal preparations, service times, etc.

There were some really cool pastry items that the Pastry Chefs had designed and created.

So awesome, like chocolate shoes.

Oversized Chocolate Easter Eggs for Easter which was the week we were leaving to return home. So cute.

There was so much more going on. They were hard at work. The tour was quick but very informative and detailed. We were able to ask questions about the dining services and how prep is done for each one, etc. Really nice.

After the tour was done we headed to our area to wait for the rest of the Media to arrive and head out on our Culinary Excursion.

We were excited to leave the Cruise Ship, since the day before we were at Sea.

After departing the Cruise Ship we headed to a Terminal area where there were shops. We were passing through to get to our Coach Bus. The bus wasn’t there when we arrived. We headed back into the Terminal and did a little shopping.

The day was stunning. The sun was shining bright. The wind was breezy, we couldn’t ask for a better day.

We could hear the Seals from a distance but we couldn’t get close enough to photograph the seals. The sweet sounds of nature.

Our bus arrived and we were ready for the Culinary Excursion in Ensenada.

The Tour took us through scenic areas of Mexico.

Our first stop was Tacos Marco Antonio.

We were welcomed by Mr. Marco. He made us feel right at home.

He shared a little about himself and his love for the food and culture of Ensenada.

We headed in where there was live music playing.

The Wall Art was phenomenal, colorful and eye catching throughout.

We headed to the counter to chose our Taco of choice.

I chose the Fried fish and Shrimp Taco. Oh my gosh!!!!

There was also a bar area with different salsas, spices, onions, sauces and toppings for your tacos.

Some of the specifics of the bar was cilantro, lemon, onions, pico de gallo, avocado sauce, a few different hot sauces and much more.

The ingredients were fresh, tasty and the flavors all married well together.

The restaurant had a homey feel. The place was very welcoming, you didn’t want to leave. This spot was my favorite of all of the stops that day.

There was live music playing which was so LIVE and enjoyable. I wanted to dance but we had a very limited amount of time.

I took some time and explored the area behind the sitting area. A really nice space. The mural was gorgeous and eye catching.

The blue really stood out on the picture. I wore blue that day, so of course I wanted to take a picture near it. We finished up and headed to the bus.

Our next stop was Boules Restaurant and Bar.

Boules had a cool vibe. A nice outdoor space with open air and trees surrounding.

Gorgeous flowers planted throughout.

Loved the vibe!

There was a long table setup for our group.

We were seated and a cucumber drink arrived at the table.

Really pretty drinks. The waitress also served wine.

Boules served us some of the most delicious fries as an appetizer.

Served with chili oil salt, and two other spices.

The main dish was Mussels with chorizo sauce in a white wine sauce. Oh my gosh! So good. The dish was flavorful and delicious!

The fries were golden brown with some of the best seasoning ever. Dip your fries in the white wine sauce. Superb! The dish was amazing!

The Food and Service at Boules was amazing! From beginning to end, everything was on point. The atmosphere in Boules was spectacular. I left the restaurant wanting a backyard space like the Boules restaurant.

Off to the next spot, headed to MANZANILLA. This restaurant offers food from the Baja California and Mexican Culture.

As we arrived it was like a undisclosed location. We walked into this lovely courtyard area and into the restaurant area that had a real cool look.

As we entered the restaurant the bar area was lined with drinks. A vodka mixture drink that was prepared in an assembly line. Really cool. At the end fire was used to finish the drink. Amazing display!

We were seated after grabbing our drinks. I didn’t try the drink, but I heard from some of the other Travel Writers that the drink was strong and refreshing.

The bartender whipped up a yummy lemon lime mocktail. Simply presented but one of the best seltzer mocktails I’ve ever tried.

We were seated and a few minutes later our Taco arrived. The Taco they prepared was a Steak Taco. A corn tortilla with Grilled steak, chicharrones en salsa roja & a fragrant black bean purée.

The ingredients were so fresh on this taco. The flavors of each component had me wanting so much more. Definitely on my top 10 favorite tacos.

The owners came out and talked with us about the uniqueness of their restaurant and what there goals are for the restaurant.

If I lived in the area, I would definitely dine there often. The quality of the food and service was amazing!

Before leaving the restaurant, I had a chance to chat a bit with Chef Carlos. Chef Carlos was a part of the Culinary Cruise with us. Chef Carlos is a wealth of knowledge. I really enjoyed my conversation with him.

He is the Chef & Owner of Taco Maria in Costa Mesa, California. Named in the top five restaurants in Los Angeles for the past three years by Jonathon Gold and the Los Angeles Times as well as Best Restaurant by both OC Weekly and the Orange County registry.

We hopped on the bus and headed to La Guerrerense. La Guerrerense owned and operated by Chef Sabina.

Chef Sabina Bandera is the creative genius the amazing dishes and products. Starting with a food cart and eventually opening a store front restaurant.

Chef Sabina runs a family owned business with her kids and husband. She has received awards and recognition by some of the big names. One of the first people to recognize her was Anthony Bourdain. Hearing of his death has been shocking to so many. He put Street Food on the map. Calling Chef Sabina a Genius. Her tostadas left him wanting more! Her Ceviche, Clam and Octopus tacos were so fresh.

I had a chance to try each one. The tostadas were fresh and there was a bar with different hot sauces and spices to finish your tostadas.

I love that Chef Sabina served us hot sauce on our tostadas. She gave recommendations to us on what to choose. She was so welcoming and had such a lovely spirit.

After finishing up, I headed to the food cart to take a few pics. There was entertainment in that area. Good music blaring and people dancing.

The food cart was packed and surrounded by lots of people.

I loved the atmosphere and environment. So fun!

My friend Patrica and I headed to a coffee shop that was near by. The coffee shop was called Casa Florentina. A cute coffee shop right on the street.

We ordered a few Lattes, I ordered the Nutella Latte. The Nutella Latte was so yummy.

My friend and I shared a layered raspberry cake from there. The cake was tasty but wasn’t very fresh.

The coffee definitely was a hit.

We proceeded to the next stop via walking. The walk didn’t take long and we were able to enjoy some of the scenic views. There were many restaurants along the way.

As we approached Ensenada Vinos for a wine tasting.

The guy conducting the wine tasting was hilarious!

He offered a wealth of knowledge on the wine as well as humor.

We wrapped up and quickly headed out to return to the Cruise Ship. The excursion was awesome! A well spent day of eating, learning and enjoying Baja California and Mexican culture!

The return to the ship was quick. When we arrived back on the ship, Mr. Jeffrey Merrihue was doing a talk on the 6 Foodies Cities in the World! Such a fun talk as well as informative.

He revealed that in order to be a Foodie city you must offer top Fine Dining restaurants, Cheap Eats and Local food that reflects local culture. It was a quick talk but filled with a lot of information.

What a fun day! But it wasn’t over. My next blog post will include our Farewell Cocktail Party and Dinner at Salty Dog, Gastropub. You don’t want to miss all the deeds about Salty Dog!